Washington, D.C.-- Today, Rep. Maloney requested a legal opinion from the General Accounting Office regarding whether or not the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) had proper authorization to negotiate royalty settlements with major oil companies. She also sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno asking for the Justice Department’s policy and role in these settlements. Rep. Maloney has focused attention on two Interior Department negotiated settlements with Exxon and Chevron. These settlements may have resolved more than $1 billion in outstanding claims for only $218 million.

NEW YORK, NY - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) has contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for assistance in obtaining federal action to regulate the operation of the 34th Street Heliport. The Heliport has plagued residents of the East Side of Manhattan with helicopter noise and quality of life problems for several years.

Washington, D.C.-- Today, Rep. Maloney applauded the United States Government, New York State, New York City and local community groups for their combined effort to eliminate Brooklyn's Asian Longhorn Beetle infestation, remove dead or damaged trees and replant new trees in an unprecedented effort to restore the communities' greenery.

Washington, D.C.-- Today, Rep. Maloney announced that the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) may not have had proper authorization to negotiate royalty settlements with major oil companies containing more than a billion dollars in claims. Maloney has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt containing a legal analysis questioning the authority of the Department. Specifically, the letter states that MMS needed the Justice Department’s authorization to resolve settlements over $100,000, settlements which are printed in the Federal Register. Furthermore, affected States and Indian tribes should have been parties to the negotiations, and since the settlements were in dispute, the Interior Department should have referred the matter to the General Accounting Office for resolution and instruction.

WASHINGTON, DC--Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) announced the release of the Congressional report, “Crude Oil Valuation: The Ineffective Response of the Minerals Management Service.” The House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight issued this report as a follow-up to a hearing of the Subcommittee on Government Management Information and Technology held on June 17, 1996. Maloney is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee. The report concludes that the Minerals Management Service has failed to aggressively collect hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid federal oil royalties.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) announced today that many States are way ahead of the Federl government in collecting unpaid royalties. The Project on Government Oversight in conjunction with Rep. Maloney released a report today which shows that, outside of California, oil companies owe the American public between $400 million and $1.3 billion in unpaid oil royalties since 1985.